For as the Mayor remarked last night, there is a mood of London-bashing elsewhere in the country. The rise of Ukip especially has been built on resentment and disdain for London and “Westminster”, the dismissive new shorthand for the country’s political and administrative elite. And even when not directly battling Nigel Farage’s party, politicians of other parties have a tendency to shy away from talking about London and its national role.

They should recognise what has become clearer than ever since the crisis: that London is now the motor of the nation’s economy. That is underpinned by arguably the greatest concentration of financial activity in the world, and by an astonishing agglomeration of scientific firepower. London and the South-East now have more workers in tech industries than California, while institutions such as Imperial College, the Wellcome Trust and, from next year, the Crick Institute, along with Oxford and Cambridge, lead scientific and medical research.

But such success does not simply happen: it needs investment, especially as London’s population surges towards 10 million in 2030. This government and the last have invested in London’s infrastructure, with major Tube upgrades and Crossrail under way: but now we should be planning to invest even more ambitiously for the years ahead. London’s global competitors are not standing still: so we need Crossrail 2, the Bakerloo line extension and new airport capacity. And we need more science funding and investment in the capital’s schools, too. As Chancellor George Osborne tells this paper today: “In the next five or 10 years we have this opportunity to make London the undisputed global capital city.” Yes: let’s do it.

Jihadists: a long war

Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley’s comments on the terror threat highlight the growing impact here of the war in Syria and Iraq. Rowley speaks of a “step change” in counter-terrorist policing and of the strain the problem is putting on police: already this year 218 people have been arrested in Britain for terrorism offences related to the conflict in Syria and Iraq. He speaks of a challenge lasting “years”.

There have been suggestions today that returning jihadists could be prosecuted under treason legislation; today International Development Secretary Justine Greening warns that they will in any case face the “full weight of the law”. What is certain, however, is that this will be a long fight. There is no sign of an end to the turmoil in the Middle East, while hundreds of jihadists will require years of surveillance. We have to win the battle against Islamism: we should dig in for the long haul.

Give us this cycle lane

The Mayor should be emboldened by our poll today showing that almost two-thirds of Londoners strongly support his plan for the east-west cycle superhighway. The plan, creating segregated cycling space along the Embankment, has run into some City opposition in recent weeks. We need to make sure that the plans take on board all road-users’ views. But the poll shows that this is a project that Londoners support: Boris Johnson must push ahead with it.